14. If someone of my neurology can do something well, I will not be punished for being unable to do the same thing well or at all.

15. People do not constantly tell me that I need to work on the things which I am very bad at, at the expense of things which I am good at and enjoy doing.

16. People who have power over my education will probably not decide that, instead of receiving the academic education most of my peers receive, it would be best for me if my time in school were spent learning non-academic “skills.”

17. I can reveal my neurology to my boss and coworkers without fear of losing my job.

18. I can ask for technical or social support on the job without being seen as a troublemaker or charity case.

19. People do not automatically assume that the best place for me to live is an institution.

20. The majority of people who make the laws of my nation share my neurology.

21. The services that I need to survive not only already exist, but even if I use those services on a 24-hour basis, I will still be considered independent.

22. When I need help performing a particular task, I can ask for help without having to produce documentation to prove I actually need help with it. The help will most often be provided in a manner I can understand, and will not be considered an inconvenience or an act of pity.

23. No one sees my neurology as being in need of elimination or cure.

24. If I am visibly upset, people generally assume something must have upset me, and will generally try to help me.

25. People do not suggest that groups that are made for the benefit of people of my neurological type be led and ruled by people of a different neurological type, because mine is seen as inherently incapable.

26. I have never had to take a single test that determines, for my entire lifetime, whether I get to communicate.

Relationships

27. My family, friends, and significant others are not told that I am incapable of relating to other human beings.

28. If I am an adult, I can be a sexual being without the assumption that any partner attracted to me must be a predator or pedophile.

29. I am never told that I should not have children lest I pass on the genes that cause them to share my neurological type.

30. No one speculates about whether I am competent to raise children based solely on my neurology.

31. People do not assume that living in the same household as me is inherently “tragic” or “devastating,” or that my family, friends and partner will need a support group to deal with living with me.

32. I will not be asked to leave a public place, or to change where I live, because people are uncomfortable with my neurotypical behaviors.

33. If I am unhappy, people do not automatically assume my unhappiness is the result of me being who I am.

34. My opinions on social mores and societal issues are not dismissed based on my neurology or on the assumption that I am incapable of understanding how these things work. Likewise, my gender identity and sexual orientation are not discounted because of my neurology.

Respect

35. I expect people to presume intellect and competence with me.

36. If I fail, most will encourage me by telling me that I will ultimately succeed.

37. If I fail to understand autistic people, this is attributed to a deficit inherent in autistic people rather than in me.

38. If I have a particular talent or ability, I can demonstrate that talent without being called an “idiot savant” or my talent being called a “splinter skill” or some other demeaning word.

39. The definitions of rude and irritating conduct were developed by and for people with my neurology.

40. I am not praised for acting less neurotypical or punished for acting more neurotypical.

41. I am not expected to alter or suppress my natural ways of moving, interacting, or expressing emotion in most circumstances.

42. If I fail to alter or suppress my natural ways of moving, interacting, or expressing emotion, I do not fear public ridicule or exclusion because of this.

43. When prospective parents and others speak of wanting a “healthy child,” I know that they mean a child like me.

44. People don’t accuse me of grandiosity or derisively dismiss it if I suggest that some admirable historical figure might have been neurotypical.

45. It is considered good for people who are not like me to try to act more like me.

46. My natural movements and traits are not used by my peers to ridicule others of their neurological type, either jokingly or maliciously.

47. I am never told that the fact I have a certain cognitive skill means that I am lying when I say I lack another cognitive skill. Nor am I dismissed as incapable of things I truly can do because I lack certain cognitive skills.

48. I can discuss my interests at length without this being viewed as a “symptom.”

49. When I communicate, people do not gather in crowds around me and gawk.

50. My behaviors, abilities, and skill levels at age 2 or 3 are considered indicative of an immature phase of life that will pass naturally, not as representative of my prognosis for the rest of life.

Definition of terms

Majority: The dominant group.

Minority: (1) A racial, religious, political, national, or other group thought to be different from the larger group of which it is part; (2) A group having little power or representation relative to other groups within a society; (3) a member of one of these groups.

Neurotypical: (1) Having a type of neurology that is expected and/or favored by the society in which one lives. (i.e., having a “normal” or “typical” brain, and the typical sensory processing/body movements/facial expressions associated with a typical neurological system.)

We: (1) The people who helped to create this document—most of us autistic or with other less typical neurology; (2) those who support the recognition of human rights for autistic people and others with less typical neurology.